Closing out the first month of the regular session, legislative leaders have no clarity on Gov. Sarah Sanders administration’s price tag for education, public safety or healthcare, much less a blueprint for the state’s anticipated $6 billion balanced budget. Sen. Jonathan Dismang, R-Beebe, chairman of the Joint Budget Committee, said he’s waiting to see first drafts of new school policy and prison and sentencing reform legislation. “I haven’t seen the education plan, so I don’t have any ballpark figures on what that’s going to cost, what we’re going to do. We do know that there is a portion that’s going to be for increasing teacher pay. Again, that’s going to have a direct impact. But again, I have no idea, if I’m just being transparent, on what that’s going to look like, and that’s why you see me being hesitant in regards to the budget,” he said. This week, Democrats released a plan to provide increases for teachers and non-classified personnel. It carries a roughly $400 million price tag. Dismang said prison construction – which could range from 1,500 to 5,000 new beds – will likely come from one-time surplus funds, but operations will have to be factored into […]

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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Workplace bullying is on the rise and younger workers, especially Gen Z, are the hardest hit. A workplace expert tells me there has been a 13 percent increase in workplace bullying since the pandemic began and about one-third of employees said they have observed that bullying, which is an increase of 20 percent from before the pandemic. Erica Salmon Byrne, the CEO of Ephisphere, said younger employees are the most likely victims and most likely to report the bullying. The growth of social media is considered a major contributor. "It is sometimes easier to be a jerk behind the keyboard than it is to be a jerk to somebody’s face, and so we think that’s a piece of it," she explained. "The other piece of it is the incoming population of workers, the Generation Z employees that are coming out of college now and joining the workforce, they are considerably more likely to report having observed bullying." You can see my full interview on the Sunday Business Page above! In: Pittsburgh Jon Delano Jon Delano is a familiar face on KDKA, having been the station’s political analyst since 1994. In September 2001, Jon joined KDKA full […]

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Stocks rallied, with the S&P 500 climbing 2.5% last week. The index is now up 13.8% from its October 12 closing low of 3,577.03 and down 15.1% from its January 3, 2022 closing high of 4,796.56. Stay ahead of the market While the U.S. economy has been cooling off for months, the hard economic data shows growth has been pretty resilient . On Thursday, we learned GDP in Q4 rose at a 2.9% rate. However, if you’ve only been reading sentiment-oriented business surveys (i.e., the soft data), you might think things are in much worse shape than they really are. The ISM Manufacturing surveys have signaled contraction in November and December. The S&P Global U.S. Composite Output surveys have been signaling contraction since last July . Similarly, regional business surveys from the New York Fed , the Philly Fed , and the Dallas Fed have reflected ugly declines in activity. This dynamic is not new to TKer’s paid subscribers. See: Perceptions on the economy have disconnected from reality � Goldman Sachs economists explored this conflict between the hard and soft data in a new research note titled: “Making Sense of Scary Survey Data.” “While contractionary soft data in January […]

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Here is what rising prices mean for your Thanksgiving New York CNN — Trader Joe’s asked its customers a simple question: If you were to spend the rest of your life on a deserted island, which nine Trader Joe’s products would you take with you? More than 18,000 customers responded to its 14th annual survey ranking the grocery store’s most popular items in nine different categories. There were some caveats this year: Gone from the running were five products that have won many times in the past (think Mandarin Orange Chicken and dark chocolate peanut butter cups), and instead are featured in its Product Hall of Fame . The first Trader Joe’s opened in Pasadena, California, in 1967. Its founder Joe Coulombe (yes, Joe was a real guy), was a convenience store owner who wanted to open a grocery chain to appeal to a niche market of well-educated, well-traveled consumers. The idea led him to create a cult-favorite grocery empire. Here are the products customers voted their favorites, in categories from cheese to entrees. Top Overall Chili & Lime Flavored Rolled Tortilla Chips, spicy corn chips, swept the competition this year, taking home the top prize. Runners-up included the […]

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HCLTech, HCL Technology company HCLTech on Thursday announced that global toy manufacturer Mattel Inc. has selected it as primary digital transformation partner for the next several years. HCLTech will drive transformation across Mattel’s global technology landscape cutting across applications, infrastructure and information security domains. The IT major will support Mattel’s future direction and continued digital transformation journey, the company said. “With operations in more than 35 locations around the world, it is vital to have an IT services partner that can match our scale and adjust for our growth as an IP-driven, high-performing toy company,” said Sven Gerjets, Chief Technology Officer at Mattel. He added that “due to their extensive experience in modernizing large enterprises across sectors and around the world, HCLTech is the right partner at the right time for Mattel.” India’s third largest IT services firm HCLTech has reported a strong quarter with a net profit of Rs 4,096 crore for Q3 FY 23, an increase of 18.8 per cent compared to the same period last year against a weak global macroeconomic environment. “We’re excited to partner with Mattel to help them move to a product IT operating model,” said Anand Birje, President of Digital Business at […]

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The Economic Times has partnered with the NASSCOM Center of Excellence IoT & AI and India SME Accelerator Network to curate a six-week digital transformation program for SMEs in the manufacturing sector. The six-week participation-by-invite program has global experts with decades of success in transforming manufacturing operations into smart factories as instructors. Each expert and their topic of teaching is carefully selected to ensure maximum value to participants to leverage deep understanding and insights on the advanced technologies of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and Augmented Reality (AR) to deliver maximum value. Each expert has a track record of transforming businesses and will coach participants over six weeks to transform their manufacturing operations to unleash growth. The course content will accelerate participating enterprises to prepare for the next wave of transformation, i.e., Industry 4.0, also known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The course is invaluable because there is no course to address this need for SMEs. We curated the course content to accelerate SMEs with ambitions to be Industry 4.0 compliant. The process for selection is simple – Register here. Our evaluation team will review your submitted details to confirm fitment for the workshop and, depending […]

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FactSet , a global financial digital platform and enterprise solutions provider, today announced that it has been selected as the primary market data provider for BMO’s Wealth Management division . FactSet is deploying its modern, flexible Advisor Workstation to BMO Wealth Management professionals across Canada “to support its digital transformation objectives.” The implementation “equips advisors with FactSet’s industry-leading content and analytics within a comprehensive and intuitive web-based interface that enhances BMO Wealth Management’s broader technology ecosystem to drive advisor productivity and client engagement efforts.” The expanded relationship with BMO “represents another significant win in the wealth management sector, and confirms FactSet’s strategy to deliver flexible, robust, and differentiated solutions that power our clients’ digital transformation journeys across their wealth enterprise.” Goran Skoko , Executive Vice President, Head of Research and Advisory Solutions at FactSet, said : “Our collaboration with BMO demonstrates how FactSet’s solutions enable enterprise-wide digital transformation and reinforces our commitment to the Canadian market. We are thrilled to work with BMO, who is committed to implementing new technologies that will enhance communication, efficiency, and the advisor experience, and drive improved customer outcomes.” Bruce Ferman , Chief Operations Officer, BMO Private Wealth, said: “We are pleased to work […]

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Participants in FTA’s second listening session, held in San Francisco in January 2023 USDOT and FTA are committed to working with federal, state, and local community partners to combat discrimination and hate in all forms. Everyone should be able to ride a bus, take the subway, or simply walk down the street free from the fear of harassment and violence. FTA is supporting the implementation of USDOT’s Agency Action Plan to advance equity, justice and opportunity for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (AA and NHPI) in response to Executive Order 14031 . Together, we are working to help AA and NHPI communities overcome the systemic barriers and persistent disparities they face – and expand access to economic opportunity for these communities. Listening Sessions The Office of the Secretary and FTA are co-hosting a series of transit listening sessions with AA and NHPI community organizations throughout the nation. Input from diverse stakeholder groups will be used to improve FTA’s work, programs, communications, and technical assistance to better meet industry needs while also achieving FTA’s goals and priorities. The input and ideas received from the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities will help DOT, FTA, and transit […]

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While the overall stock market direction so far this year remains up, the path ahead still presents plenty of potential headwinds. Inflation has yet to be properly tamed, the geopolitical map remains uncertain with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine still ongoing and Covid variants could reappear at any time. Add in the prospect for a fiery battle in Congress around raising the debt ceiling, and Oppenheimer’s Chief Investment Strategist John Stoltzfus thinks market volatility is “unlikely to leave the landscape.” However, these should not act as deterrents for stock investing, with Stoltzfus noting “there never is ‘an all clear signal’ sounded over the markets.” “Experience tells us that with opportunity comes risk and with risk comes opportunity whether in everyday life, businesses on Main Street, or in the Canyons of Wall Street,” he went to say, before championing “diversification.” With that idea in mind, let’s take a look at two stocks that Stoltzfus’ analyst colleagues at the banking firm believe make sound investment choices right now. In fact, one of them, according to the analysts, could surge as much as 170% over the next 12 months. Let’s take a closer look. Icosavax, Inc. ( ICVX ) The first name we’ll […]

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Accenture Song’s Jaime Bloom and Kevin Ellenwood on the need for government services to be simple, intuitive, and trustworthy Jaime Bloom and Kevin Ellenwood are Accenture Song (formerly Accenture Interactive) managing directors serving public sector client needs. The pandemic hastened the development of ‘digital government,’ including an expansion of remote/hybrid workforces and online services. There is now tremendous opportunity for many government organisations, including national, state, and local agencies, to more effectively listen, communicate, and co-create with the people and groups being served as part of a new era of more responsive, innovative public services. We know from recent research that people want government services to be simple, intuitive, and trustworthy. Nearly two-thirds of US respondents earlier this year said accessing public services is frustrating, and they prioritised ‘ease of use’ and ‘more confidence in data security and privacy’ when asked what would make them more likely to use government digital services. At the same time, more than one-third (36%) said they prefer in-person services, and one-in-five lacks high-speed Internet access at home. Nevertheless, whether services are accessed online, in-person or via telephone or mail, digital tools encompassing data analytics, sentiment monitoring and collaborative capabilities are now widely available […]

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